House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is not doing enough to ensure on-time mail delivery despite assurances he provided to her on Wednesday.
“This morning, I spoke with Postmaster General DeJoy and conveyed to him that his announcement is not a solution and is misleading,” Pelosi said in a statement.
Pelosi said the Postal Service needs more money because states are ramping up mail-in balloting in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Postal Service warned 46 states that ballots may not be counted on time if they are not mailed in advance of the Nov. 3 election.
“The Postal Service is Election Central during the pandemic, and Democrats will not allow the President to force Americans to choose between their health and their vote,” Pelosi said.
DeJoy, a Trump appointee and prominent GOP donor, announced this week he is suspending any policies that union officials are blaming for the delay in mail delivery, such as the removal of mailboxes and sorting machines.
Pelosi said the announcement does not reverse changes that have already caused a delay in deliveries.
“The Postmaster General frankly admitted that he had no intention of replacing the sorting machines, blue mailboxes and other key mail infrastructure that have been removed and that plans for adequate overtime, which is critical for the timely delivery of mail, are not in the works,” the California Democrat said. “All of these changes directly jeopardize the election and disproportionately threaten to disenfranchise voters in communities of color.”
Pelosi has summoned the House back from its August recess for a vote Saturday on a post office bill that would boost funding by $25 billion and block DeJoy from making any new service changes.
